This invention relates to resistors used in the dynamic braking function of electric motor systems such as those found in railroad locomotives, and in particular to a simplification and reduction of parts in those resistors without adversely affecting performance.
A widely used example of a dynamic braking locomotive resistor is disclosed in Kuhn et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,874,257. As shown there, however, this resistor is extremely complex, having many parts, including spring loaded insulator blocks and extra layers of insulation.
In other examples of such resistors, the insulator blocks have been formed of cold molded inorganic materials such as asbestos cement. That material has become more difficult to obtain with the advent of strict Federal regulations regarding asbestos. Thus it would be desirable to use a different material to form those insulator blocks.